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MILLS: We must drain the swamp

Dec. 18, 2017

To the Editor:

We suffer from a horrendous malady. The nuclear-powered chief resident in the White House is a fascist enabler. The Republican Party tolerates his cuddling with the ultra-right because they attach greater importance to his ability to sign whatever crosses his desk than his megalomania.

Capitol Hill Republicans are engaged in passage of so-called “tax reform.” For example, they aim to permanently cut the top rate for large corporations from approximately 35 percent to 21 percent. The whole tax cut bonanza will increase the national debt by about one-and-one-half trillion dollars. Take note that the recipients of this bountiful outlay are generously willing to leave the bill for us. Numerous pollsters say that a clear majority of their participants oppose the giveaway.

If this monstrosity is signed into law, Alt-Right guru and man-behind-the-curtain Steve Bannon has cheerfully explained that he advocates (paraphrasing his words) “deconstruction the administrative state.” This is a fancy way of saying that the upcoming attacks on working people will be multi-faceted and designed to facilitate a 21st century power grab.

One scheme will include Trump’s own destructive and dangerous executive orders deregulating business, the environment, natural resources and perpetuating his America-go-it-alone foreign policy. He will continue to make appointments that reflect the wishes of the political Right.

Another is legislative. The Washington D.C. GOP majority will bleed out federal programs like Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. They will make every effort to curtail the rights of women, the LGBT community, people of color, immigrants, Muslims and the Labor Movement. They will step up arbitrary police powers and further provide law enforcement with military style equipment. Their counterparts in state government will do likewise, including voter suppression.

Working class families have contributed generations of sweat equity to public and private enterprises headquartered here at home and abroad. That breadwinners like us have been denied the true value of our labor throughout the many years constitutes the biggest “estate tax” since whenever. What kind of representatives have we who suckle from the public dairy, and then proceed to place our universal wellbeing upon the chopping block?!

If the GOP and the chief twitter tweeter are successful, we will be forced to bear a devastating burden. Then the gears of democracy could be stripped. Therefore, our only reasonable defense is to “drain the swamp.”

TIM MILLS

UAW retiree and Indivisible and Northern Illinois Democratic Socialists of America member

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